THE MAN OF THEIR DREAMS NOMINEES SHOW OFF AT OSCAR LUNCH.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski and Sandra Barrera Staff Writers

When Oscar nominee Will Smith heard his name called, he bounded down the steps, waved to the cheering audience, grabbed ``Ali'' co-star and fellow nominee Jon Voight in a bear hug, hoisted him off the ground, then bounded up to the stage, commandeered the microphone and said, ``Thank you.''

And that was just at the Oscar nominees luncheon Monday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Imagine what he'll do if he wins the best-actor honor on March 24.

Smith joined about 100 other Academy Award nominees for a casual - by Hollywood awards hype standards - luncheon that gave all the nominees a chance to bask together in the Oscar glow before the big night when four out of every five or so will leave the Kodak Theatre empty-handed.

``This is the high point of the entire experience thus far, just to stand up there with all of the nominees,'' Smith said. ``I may have been a little overzealous, but I had a good time.''

This year has been a triumph for African-American performers, with Smith and Denzel Washington (``Training Day'') vying for best actor, Halle Berry up for best actress (``Monster's Ball''), and Sidney Poitier accepting an honorary Academy Award for his career achievement. At the luncheon, Poitier was honored with an unprecedented standing ovation as he made his way from the stage back to his table.

Here's what others said:

Besides the nomination for best supporting actor for his work on ``Ali,'' Voight had other good news.

His daughter, Angelina Jolie, he told reporters backstage, had ``just got a baby yesterday. She adopted a Cambodian baby.''

Reporters gasped with astonishment as they pressed the veteran actor for more information about the newest member of Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton's family. A boy. But all he could say was the obvious.

``I'm a grandfather today.''

Helen Mirren, nominated for best supporting actress for ``Gosford Park,'' was asked if her win Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards has given her a boost in confidence about the Oscars.

``I'm just a tiny blip on the radar screen,'' she demurred. ``I haven't got a chance in hell.''

Nicole Kidman, who's in the running for best actress, told reporters that she was wrapping the end of a work day while on location in Scandinavia when somebody posted a sign on the camera that read: ``Nominated best actress.'' But she didn't know for which film. When she was told it was for her role in ``Moulin Rouge,'' Kidman was especially thrilled.

``I felt like I didn't let Baz (Luhrmann, the film's director) down, which is a weird thing to say for an actor,'' she said. ``But your director always wants so much for you that you go, 'Ugh, I hope he's not disappointed.' And I felt that he wasn't disappointed.''

Smith was asked about the race factor at this year's Oscars.

``If you come to the United States and you're talking about the Oscars, the academy is made up of a majority of white Americans so, for the most part, white American films are going to be nominated and white American actors are going to win,'' he said. ``In my mind, you can't allow an award to be the validation of your work. ... We all just want to be judged as human beings. Period.''

The backstage area broke into applause.

Berry, nominated for best actress for ``Monster's Ball,'' was asked a similar question about race.

``I'm very happy,'' she said. ``I feel that it is a huge step in the right direction. I don't really know how it will transform the industry, but what I do know is that it will instill hope in other people and will help them dream that maybe one day they can be there. I think that's always a good way to start to change things.''

Like the other African-American nominees, Washington, nominated for best actor for ``Training Day,'' was asked about the race issue.

``Everybody votes for the people they think are the best, and it happened to be three African-Americans,'' Washington said.

Sissy Spacek, nominated for best actress for ``In the Bedroom,'' said she longed for the golden days of cinema when asked about the roles available to aging actresses.

``I would love to see it go back to the '40s where the mature woman ruled,'' she said.

Russell Crowe, nominated for his leading role in ``A Beautiful Mind,'' was in a good mood. And who could blame him?

``We made a movie about a schizophrenic man and made over $140 million at the box office,'' he said. ``Now that says some wonderful things about the intellect of the filmgoing public.''

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Helen Mirren, a nominee for best actress for her role in ``Gosford Park,'' demurred, ``I'm just a tiny blip on the radar screen.''

(2 -- color) VOIGHT

(3 -- color) KIDMAN

(4 -- color) BERRY

(5 -- color) SPACEK

(6 -- color) CROWE